‘Cougar Town’ on TBS: 8 Things to Get Excited for on Season 4

Cougar Town’s cul-de-sac crew may have gotten a new address, but they are the same old, Penny Can-playing, wine-chugging, idiom definition-changing group we loved on ABC.

Last we left Jules (Courteney Cox) and her gang there, she had just married Grayson (Josh Hopkins), and her son Travis (Dan Byrd) drunkenly told one of her best friend, Laurie (Busy Philipps), he loved her. Bobby (Brian Van Holt) was still living on his boat, Andy (Ian Gomez) was still hanging on Bobby’s every word, and Ellie (Christa Miller) was not-so-silently judging them all.

Now, though, Cougar Town lives on TBS, and the fun is just getting started for Season 4. What can you expect from the cul-de-sac crew this season?

Note: Spoilers!

1. Now that Grayson and Jules are married, routine becomes a very key player in their relationship. Things start out simply enough on the season premiere that is only a week out from their beach wedding last year. Anything that Grayson does twice becomes a precedent set for the rest of their marriage, but there may be a thin line between a routine and a rut and when Jules worries the passion is dissipating. She enlists Ellie’s help to pick a fight with Grayson. You know, just for fun. Ellie’s power cannot be stopped, though, and soon Grayson is pressuring Jules to — gasp — take his last name!

2. Terms like “slap out of it” and “cake walk” are not all this group are changing. Realizing that four out of seven is a majority, they decide to start making new rules that stretch into what each other can wear, how they can eat, and what they have to say when certain members walk into the room. Of course, it doesn’t take long for alliances to form and the game to be manipulated…

3. The cul-de-sac crew flashes back to see how they met … cute. Jules becomes a bit obsessed with wanting a “meet-cute” moment for her and Grayson since they are now going to be together forever. And in order to prove her point, the gang tells stories of how they ended up becoming friends. Series creator Bill Lawrence had previously said he didn’t know that he could ever do such an episode because there might always be a little comparison to Friends’ flashback Cox, but he found a way that is equally unique and memorable. Step aside, Fat Monica; here comes Hillbilly Jules!

4. The cul-de-sac crew gets a new member. Yes, that’s right, since Bob Clendenin has become a series regular this season, Tom gets to come in from simply stalking Jules outside her window. Change approved! And ‘tis the season to learn more about Tom than we ever needed to when we meet both his cat and his girlfriend (guest star Ali Wentworth).

5. The wine flows even freer — and now in unique locations! Season 3 brought the “on deck” wine glass, but Season 4 brings wine spikes: bottles of wine, two at a time, stashed on the corners of lawns around the cul-de-sac, “like fire hydrants but useful.” You know, just in case you’re taking a walk and get a little thirsty.

6. Wade and Laurie take the next step — but telling Travis is the hardest part. Though Travis and Laurie do deal with what he said to her on the last season finale, and he is still there for her when she is obsessively worrying about Wade (guest star Edwin Hodge) in the war, ultimately they are still just friends. Nobody wants to break the bad news to Travis when Laurie and Wade end up moving in together, but in true Jules Kiki Cobb form, she can’t avoid the “harsh truth” forever.

7. More fun with the show’s title cards. Much like Chuck Lorre’s end of episode vanity cards, Lawrence previously took a moment and an extra line or two under the Cougar Town logo to make a joke at the network’s treatment of his show’s expense or his own title. These days the messages are a little different, but they’re still an important part of the show for any die hard fan, so make sure to pause your DVR so you don’t miss out on any in-joke!

8. It’s on cable now, so Cougar Townhas fun with nudity! In an attempt to keep things spicy in their marriage, Jules and Grayson instigate naked day, full-on Austin Powers-style with fruit covering the sensitive areas in wide shots. It would be a lot hotter if Tom — and later Bobby and Andy — wasn’t leering through the kitchen window, though.

Cougar Town premieres on TBS on Tuesday at 10PM.

What are you most excited to see when the cul-de-sac crew returns? Sound off in the comments below!